Recording mechanism for games



April 4, 1939- E. P. Du' PONT RECORDING' MECHANISM FOR GAMES Filed Deo. so, 193s l 2 sheets-sheet 1 April 4, 1939.

E. P. DU PONT RECORDING MECHANISM FOR GAMES Filed Dec. 30, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m m fm v C 6 .r//M /e a/ HC.

Patented Apr. 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates to a recording mechanism whereby records may be made of scores obtained in various games, the recording mechanism being of general application to games of chance or skill.

in certain places such as amusement parks, or the like, where prizes are given for high scores in games of chance or skill, it is customary to permit the player to accumulate the scores obtained in playing the game during various visits to the park, or the like. This of course requires the keeping of permanent records and, in general, the issuance of receipts to the player so that he may prove at a subsequent date the scores previously made. Necessarily, oi course, this has also involved the presence of an attendant who could Verify and record the results.

It is the broad object of the present invention to provide a recording device applicable, for eX- ample, to a coin operated machine not subject to the supervision of any attendant. Of course, the device is also applicable where an attendant may be present to collect the money paid for the privilege of playing and to generally supervise the game. As will be obvious hereafter, the invention is applicable to various games, being slightly modiiied only to conform with the Scor-- ing system oi the game. For example, it is applicable to a bagatelle game of the type herein specifically illustrated in which chance plays the primary part, although it is also applicable to games of skill such as those involving a simulation of a gun and target in which the gun is movable by the player and in which the score depends upon his skill.

More specifically, the recording mechanism operates by the formation of a duplicate record, one copy of which is delivered to the player while the other copy is retained in the form of a permanent record within the machine. The arrangement speciiically provides for the entry on both copies oi the players name and address so that the score may be fully identified with him.

Various subsidiary objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional View showing the essential parts of one form of recording mechanism adapted for recording the scores of a bagatelle game;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view partially in section showing the game board and its connections to the recording mechanism; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of a detail.

In the arrangement illustrated herein the recording mechanism is adapted to the playing Vof a coin controlled game. It will be obvious, however, that it can be readily modied so that playing may be controlled by an attendant to permit, for example, the player to use only a certain number of balls in one play.

A coin C is inserted into a chute 2 to release a locking mechanism and initiate the playing of a gaine. The coin falls within a pocket 4 having an open bottom and slidable over a suitable table so that, initially, dropping of the coin from the pocket is prevented. The initial positions are illustrated in Fig. l following the insertion of the coin. The pocket 4 forms part of a slide 6 which is connected by a link 8 to a suitable operating lever arrangement indicated at Il). After inserting the coin the player must raise the lever i to set the parts in condition for playing. As the lever l is raised the coin acts as a cam forcing the lever i8 upwardly lifting a projection 2li out of a notch 2l formed in the periphery of a disc 22, the lever i8 being journalled upon a iiXed cross shaft Il. The disc 22 carries a laterally projecting pin 24 entering an opening 26 in the slide t. The pin 24 also enters the yoke 23 formed on the end of a lever pivoted at 25 on the slide the opposite end forming an armature 2l for an electrcmagnet 29. The lever also carries a hammer 3i arranged to strike a bell 33. The yoke 23 has an opening of less longitudinal extent than the opening 26. The opening of the yoke 23 is of such size that the projection 2E? is raised out of the notch 2l before the pin is engaged by the yoke so that when engagement does occur the disc 22 is freely movable, the projection 2li then lying above the periphery of the disc in a position to drop thereon after the coin comes into alignment with the chute l2 and drops therethrough into the coin box i4 which is held in closed position by a suitable lock indicated at i6. The coin box lf3 is cylindrical in shape and has an interior diameter slightly greater than the coin to be used in the machine so that the coins will normally pile up in definite order with the result that, as will be pointed out later, the owner of the machine may determine what player may have used any counterfeit coins and may accordingly void his record.

As the slide S continues its movement to the right, as indicated in Fig. l, the disc 22 is rotated clockwise with the projection 2B riding on its periphery so that the lever IB is held in an upper position causing engagement of the contacts 14 and 16. During this movement the link 28 which is pivoted to the disc 22 is moved upwardly causing a counterclockwise movement of the segment 30, which drives the pinion 32 clockwise carrying with it the ratchet 3i which moves freely past the spring-pressed pawl 36 which is directed as shown, this pawl 36 being carried by a feeding roller 38 cooperating with a pressure roller 40, two strips being fed between these rollers as will be hereafter described.

A plunger 42 pressed downwardly by a spring 44 initially rides upon a horizontal upper surface of the slide 6 but during the initial movement of slide 6 to the right it will drop into the hollow 43, its lower end being guided by the link I9 which is pivoted to it and journalled loosely upon the shaft |1. The plunger 42 at its upper end carries a transverse pressure bar 46 adapted to overlie type members 58 which are arranged to be eventually pressed by it against the transfer member 52, which may take the form of a typewriter ribbon, so as to impress their characters upon an upper sheet 54 and also upon a lower sheet 58, the upper sheet 54 either having carbon on its lower side or there being interposed bef tween the sheets a suitable typewriter ribbon or carbon paper, Tne sheet 54 is supplied from a roll 56 while the sheet 58 is supplied from a roll 68 both of these sheets passing together between the rollers 48 and 38. The upper sheet 54 is then directed through a suitable slot outside the machine while the sheet 58 is reeled upon a take-up roller 62 which may be held tensioned by a suitable spring of any convenient type. The two sheets pass together over a table 63 beneath an opening 65, there being interposed between them at this point a wide inked ribbon or carbon paper lf the upper strip is not provided with ink or carbon on its lower side. The purpose of this arrangement is so that the player may write his name and address upon the upper sheet at a location Where it comes opposite the opening 65, which name and address will be transferred to the lower sheet.

The type members 58 lie side by side and are carried by bars 64 individually pivoted to the upper ends of levers 66 pivoted on a common pin indicated at 61. Springs 68 react between the bars 64 and the levers 66 to hold the type members in raised position. Suitable springs 69 urge the levers 66 to positions which normally retract the type members from below the bar 46. By reason of these springs, during the initial movement of the slide 6 as mentioned above no printing occurs in the downward movement of the bar 46 as plunger 42 drops into the notch 43. The further movement of the slide 6 causes the plunger 42 to ride upwardly upon the at surface 45 of the slide 6.

Electromagnets indicated at 12, of which one is provided for each of the levers 66, are adapted to rock the levers in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 by attracting armatures 18 carried by the levers to thereby move them against the tension of springs 69 to bring the corresponding type members 58 beneath the cross bar 46. The arrangement of the magnets which is illustrated is merely for the conservation of space, the various magnets being identical in their mode of operation. The magnets have a common connection through the contacts 14 and 16 to a source of current illustrated conventionally as a battery. Each magnet furthermore has an individual connection to a Contact 18 which is arranged to be engaged by an individual cooperating contact carried by a corresponding leaf spring 88, the leaf springs being connected to the other side of the source of current.

At its rear end the slide 6 carries a block 84 which is provided with a plurality of openings 86 of which in the present instance there are five. When the slide 6 is in its rearmost position these openings are aligned with the lower ends of ve chutes 88 and also overlie the corresponding leaf springs 88 which also are iive in number. It may now be noted that there are five electromagnets 12 and the same number of levers 66 and type members 58, the type members being arranged side by side in positions to be selectively projected beneath the bar 48. When the slide 6 is in its forward position as illustrated in Fig. l the openings overlie a common receiving member 98.

An extension 83 of the block 84 underlies the lower ends of the chutes 88 when the block is in its forward position. Springs 85 form parts of the lower portions of the Ichutes 88 and are arranged to close contacts at 8l when. urged outwardly by the presence of balls in the lower portions of the chutes. These contacts act in parallel to close a circuit including a source of power and electromagnet 2S.

Referring now to Fig. 2, a bagatelle board is indicated at 92, this board being provided with the usual guideway 84 from which balls may be individually projected by manipulation of a spring-pressed plunger 96, A tube 83 opens at its upper end into the passage 88. Within this tube there is provided a plunger E88 having a member projecting laterally through a slot in the side of the tube where it is connected with a cable |02 carrying a ring or suitable handle N84. A sleeve |88 pressed upwardly by a light spring I8 is arranged to be moved upwardly, when the plunger |88 is raised, to cover the opening at which a tube ||2 communicates with the tube 98. The upward movement of the sleeve |88 is limited by a suitable stop, this sleeve having the function of preventing any balls from the tube H2 entering the tube 98 when the plunger |88 is raised, the

arrangement permitting the use of a short plung- 1,

er. The plunger |88 is normally of such weight that it will press the sleeve |88 downwardly to such extent that the upper end of the plunger is below the opening of ||2. The tube ||2 communicates with the receiving member S8 heretofore mentioned. From the above it will be obvious that successive manipulations of the plunger i 88 will enable the balls within the tube ||2 t-o be moved individually into the passage 98 from which they may be projected upon the board.

A valve member or slide H4, having an opening 3 therein, is provided which closes the passage through the tube ||2 except when the member 84 occupies its rearmost position, the valve being connected 'to a lever ||5 operated by the rocking of a lever H8 against the tension of a spring H8. The slide lill carries an electromagnet |38, connected in the circuit of electromagnet 28. Electromagnet |88 is arranged to attract a pawl |32 against the tension of a spring |34 to disengage it from a hook 36, which it would normally engage, carried by a slide |38 provided with an opening Hi8, which, when the slides are held together by engagement or the pawl and hook, will align with the opening H3. The purpose of this is made clear hereafter'.

The board is provided with the usual openings |28 communicating with the upper ends of tubes 8B which lead the balls into corresponding openings 86 in the member 84. The balls which do not enter any of the openings |28 fall into a trough |22 from which they pass through tube |24 directly into the receiver 88.

In the foregoing description the operation has been considered up to the point where the member 84 assumes its rearmost position at which time the contacts 14 and 18 will be closed and the plunger 42 will be resting upon the surface 45 of the slide 6. The magnets 12 are not energized inasmuch as the leaf springs 88 are in upper position and consequently the circuits are broken at i8. The type members 56 are accordingly retracted from beneath the bar 4B.

As play takes place, those balls which do not enter any of the openings H20 will pass into the trough |22 and into the member 90. If a ball enters one of the openings |20 it will pass through the corresponding tube 38 and will enter the proper opening S3 in the member 84. As it does so its weight will press the corresponding leaf spring downwardly closing the circuit through the corresponding magnet 12 and accordingly causing a projection of the corresponding type member E@ beneath the bar 45. If two or more balls pass into the same opening |20 those subsequent to the rst will be recorded as pointed out below and initially will rest upon the rst ball with the major portion of the second ball above the level of the top of member 84, the member 84 being preferably of a height such that its upper surface is just above the top of the lowermost ball when that ball is resting upon a spring 80. After the play of the five balls, or any other suitable number, has been nished, the player will write his name and address upon the portion of the sheet 54 available through the opening 65. He will then move lever li! downwardly to produce a succession of events as follows if it is assumed that no more than one ball is in any of the chutes 83:

First, the plunger 42 will drop into the opening 43 causing the bar 46 to press the type members Ei downwardly and record their characters upon both sheets 54 and 58. This occurs before the balls are moved off the leaf springs 8i] so that the magnets remain energized and the type members initially projected will remain beneath the bar 46. In further movement of the slide 6 to the left the pin 24 is engaged by the yoke 23 to rotate disc 22 counterclockwise and thereby produce a counterclockwise movement of feed roller 38 feeding the upper strip 54 outwardly through the slot and the duplicate member upon the reel 62. In further movement the notch 2| is brought beneath the projection 26 preventing reverse movement of the slide 6 until another coin is inserted. As the slide 6 reaches its extreme forward position, the openings 86 are aligned with the receiver iii@ so that the balls are discharged thereinto. During the forward stroke the valve H4 is closed preventing the balls from entering the tube i |2. When the magnets are deenergized all of the members 50 are moved to their inactive positions b-y the action of the springs 69. Following these operations the player may tear off the projected end of sheet 54 which contains the record of his score.

In case there is more than one ball in any chute 8S, the magnet 29 will be energized by reason of the presence of one or more upper balls and yoke 23 held thereby in an elevated position to clear the pin 24. Since the opening 26 is longer than the opening in the yoke, the movement of the slide (i to the left will not impart to the disc 22 a full movement and the record strips will be advanced only sufliciently for the printed records thereon to clear the active positions of the type members 50. Furthermore, the notch 2| will not move to a position beneath the projection 2B so that the slide 6 may be again moved to the right. In fact, this must be done to secure a record of an upper ball in any of the chutes 88. When the slide is again moved to the right, since the yoke is still raised, the pin 24 is moved only a little further to the right if at all.

The succeeding upper ball will then drop into the corresponding openings 86 and the corresponding magnets 12 will be energized to project their type members 50 into operative position. If there are now no further balls in the chutes `88, the magnet 29 will be deenergized, the yoke 23 will drop to its active position and the bell will be rung. Upon forward movement of the slide, the records will be printed and the parts brought to their initial positions as described above.

If more than two balls were initially in any one of the chutes 88, the player must continue to reciprocate the slide 6 until the bell rings. While the valve H4 is opened each time the slide is moved, since the magnet |30 remains energized as long as magnet 29 is energized, the slide |38 will not move with ||4 and consequently the balls which have been played will not be again available during the movements of the slide 6. Finally when the magnet 29 is deenergized, the pawl |32 is released for the later simultaneous movements of the slides.

The game shown in connection with the recording mechanism is illustrated merely to indicate the complete operation. It will be obvious that the equivalent of switches T8 may be operated by numerous other game elements and that the unlocking device may free other types of mechanism for operation.

There may also be made suitable provisions for preventing cheating or for detecting counterfeit coins, or the like, as is usual in mechanisms of this character. Since such precautionary mechanisms are well known they are not illustrated herein since they form no essential part of the invention.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Recording means for a game which involves a possible repeated scoring of a certain amount, comprising means for carrying a record bearing member, a plurality of separate means for recording separate amounts on the record member, a corresponding plurality of means for placing said recording means in active condition, means which in each operation may actuate once any active one of the recording means, and means limiting the operations of said actuating means during a single game to the maximum number of occurrences of a scored amount.

2. Recording means for a game which involves a possible repeated scoring of a certain amount, comprising means for carrying a record bearing member, a plurality of separate means for recording separate amounts on the record member, a corresponding plurality of means for placing said recording means in active condition, manually operable means which in each operation may. actuate once any active one of the recording means, and means limiting the operations of said actuating means during a single game to the maximum number of occurrences of a scored amount.

3. Recording means for a game which involves a possible repeated scoring of a certain amount, comprising means for feeding a record bearing member, a plurality of separate means for recording separate amounts on the record member, a corresponding plurality of means for placing said recording. means in active condition, means which in each operation may actuate once any active one of the recording means, and means limiting the operations of said actuating means during a single game to the maximum number of occurrences of a scored amount, said actuating means serving to feed the record member small distances between duplicate. recordings and ultimately to move the record member to a position for removal.

4. Recording means for a game which involves a possible repeated scoring of a certain amount, comprising means for feeding a record bearing member, a plurality of separate means for recording separate amounts on the record member, a corresponding plurality oi means for placing said recording. means in active condition, manually operable means which in each operation may actuate once any active one of the recording means, and means limiting the operations of said actuating means during a single game to the maximum number of occurrences of a scored amount, said actuating means serving to feed the record member small distances between duplicate recordings and ultimately to move the record member to a position for removal.

5. Recording means for a game, comprising a casing, means for feeding a pair of record bearing sheets simultaneously in superposed relation ship, means for recording amounts on said record sheets, and means for actuating said recording means and feeding one of said record sheets to a receiving position within the casing and the other to the operator, said casing enclosing said recording means, feeding means. and receiving position against access from the exterior, but providing access to the record sheets while they are in superposed relation to permit the entry of data on both by the operator.

6. In combination with a game which at the end of play involves the location oi? elements in positions dependent upon the play and unsuitable for repetition of play, and which involves a possible repeated scoring of the same amount, recording means comprising means for carrying a record bearing member, a plurality of separate means for recording separate amounts on the record member, a corresponding plurality of means for placing said recording means in active condition, means which in each operation may actuate once any active one of the recording means in accordance with the position of said elements, and means limiting the operations of said actuating means during a single game to the maximum number of occurrences of a scored amount, said actuating means serving to restore the elements to positions for repetition of play.

7. In a game apparatus, in combination, a housing having a dispensing outlet; a member providing a playing surface and said member having ball exit scoring. openings therein corresponding to different scoring values; an inscription-receiving web in said housing; means including members automatically actuated by balls passing through said ball exit scoring openings to record the score of the game due to balls already played and representing diilerent scoring values upon a portion of said web after a plurality of balls have been played, and means coasting with said recording means to dispense the said portion of the web Ithrough said dispensing outlet to the player.

8. In a game apparatus, in combii in, a housing having a dispensingv outlet; an inclined playing board provided with ball exit scoring openings corresponding to different scoring values; means for elevating balls, one at time, up to the level of said inclined playing board; means for propelling balls, one at a time, onto the upper portion of said inclined playing board so that they may gravitate thereover and enter into said ball exit scoring openings; inclined run-Ways below said playing board having' communication with said scoring openings for returning balls from said scoring openings to said elevating means; an inscription-receiving member in` said housing; means including members actuated by balls traveling along said run-ways to record the score of the game due` to balls already played and representing' diiierent scoring values upon said inscription-receiving member after a` plurality of balls have been played, and means to dispense said inscription-receiving member to the player through said dispensing outlet.

9. In a game apparatus, in combination, a housing provided with a dispensing outlet; a member providing a playing surface and said mem ber having ball exit scoring openings therein corresponding to different scoring values; means for propelling balls, one at a time, over said playing surface so that they may enter into said scoring openings; means for elevating spen.I balls, one at a time, up to said playing surface; run-ways below said playing surface having ccmmunication with said ball exit scoring openings ,for returning the played balls i'rom said scoring openings to said elevating means; an inscription-receiving web in said housing; means including members actuated by balls traveling along certain run-ways to record the score of the game due to balls already played and representing different scoring values upon a portion of said web after a plurality of balls have been played, and means to dispense the said portion of said web to the. player through said dispensing outlet.

10. In a game apparatus, in combination, a housing; a member providing a playing surface, said member having ball exit scoring openings therein corresponding to different scoring values; means for propelling balls, one at a` time, over said playing surface so ythat they may enter into and pass through said scoring openings; means for elevating spent balls, one: at a time, from a point below said playing surface and scoring openings up to said playing surface; printing neans in said housing; an impression-receiving member in said housing; means for urging said printing means and impr ssion-receiving member into printing engagement with each other after a. plurality of balls have been played so as to imprint upon said impression-receiving member ythe total score of the game due to balls already played and representing diiferent scoring values and to disp-ense the said impression-receiving membe thus printed to the player exteriorly of said housing.

il. In a gaine` apparatus, in combination, a housing; an inclined playing board having ball exit scoring openings formed therein corresponding to different scoring values; means for projecting balls, one at a time, onto the upper portion of said playing board so that they may gravi tate thereover and enter into and pass through said scoring op,r ings to a point below said playboard; means for elevating the played balls, one at a time, from a point below said playing board up to the level of the same; runways for conductin' the played balls from said scoring openings to said elevating means, and means including a device operable by balls passing along said runwvays from said scoring openings to said elevating means to print the total score of the game due to balls already played and representing different scoring values alter a plurality of balls have been played.

ELEUTHERE PAUL DU PONT. 

